Yahoo Finance

(Bloomberg) -- Robinhood Markets Inc. said it received a formal request from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to suspend its offerings for traders to place bets on the outcomes of the Feb. 9 Super Bowl game.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• State Farm Seeks Emergency California Rate Hike After Fires

• New York’s First ‘Passive House’ School Is a Model of Downtown Density

• NYC’s Newest Transit Leader Builds a Worker-Driven Strategy

• When French Communists Went on a Brutalist Building Boom

• Historic London Elevator Faces Last Stop in Labour’s Housing Push

The firm announced Monday that it would give retail traders access to the sports event contracts through the derivatives exchange Kalshi Inc., after allowing wagers to be placed on the US presidential election last year.

That same day, the CFTC said it had asked Kalshi and others offering the sports event contracts to explain how they were in compliance with existing derivatives rules.

Robinhood general counsel Lucas Moskowitz said in an emailed statement that the firm had been in regular contact with the CFTC ahead of the product launch, and believes the firm is in “full compliance with all applicable regulations.”

The agency said it has “serious concerns” about firms offering access to contracts that may not be permissible under the law.

“The CFTC looks forward to working with our registrants to support innovation while ensuring customer protections and strong safeguards for the public,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement.

A representative for Kalshi declined to comment.

The product had been rolled out to roughly 1% of customers, the firm said in a statement released Tuesday. For trades that had already been placed, Robinhood said it will give investors the option to close their positions or take them to resolution.

There have been questions about whether event contracts linked to sporting events qualify as gaming. Sports betting, including online offerings from firms like DraftKings Inc., is closely monitored.

Menlo Park, California-based Robinhood said it will continue to collaborate with the CFTC as it works on unveiling a more comprehensive event contracts platform later this year.

--With assistance from Lydia Beyoud.

(Updates with additional details throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• Elon Musk Inside the Treasury Department Payment System

• Amazon and SpaceX Want In on India’s Satellite Internet Market

• The NFL’s Flawed DEI Program Still Beats What Most Companies Are Doing

• The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It

• Indy Pass, the Anti-Vail Seasonal Ski Ticket, Is Gaining Fans

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.